Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic system, which is intended to perform the wireless communication of ultrasonic diagnostic information within the speed range of general-purpose data communication standards, is arranged in a first and second units. The first unit includes ultrasonic wave transmit/receive means which transmits an ultrasonic wave and receives the echo of the wave, data generation means which produces digital diagnostic data based on the received echo, data compression means which compresses the digital data, and data communication means which sends out the compressed data in wireless manner. The second unit includes data communication means which receives the transmitted data, data expansion means which expands the received data, and information generation means which produces display information from the expanded data.

Abstract: In order to make both the maintenance of a scan range and a frame rate for ultrasonic imaging and high definition of an image compatible with each other, a sound-ray density for scan is made nonuniform, and a sound-ray density is rendered dense at a required portion and coarse at portions other than the portion.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for a compact, inexpensive ultrasound system using an off-the-shelf personal digital assistant (PDA) device interfacing to a hand-held probe assembly through a standard digital interface. The hand-held probe assembly comprises a detachable transducer head attached to a beamforming module that performs digital beamforming. The PDA runs Windows applications and displays menus and images to a user. The PDA also runs ultrasound data processing software to support a plurality of imaging modes. An internal battery is provided in the PDA to power the system. The transducer head is detachable from the beamforming module.

Abstract: For the purpose of eliminating a problem that a good harmonic image cannot be obtained due to the tail of a fundamental component of previous received data intruding into a fundamental component of current received data; in the operation in a harmonic mode according to a phase inversion technique, a first ultrasonic pulse is sequentially transmitted to a plurality of foci on the same acoustic line, and a second ultrasonic pulse of a phase opposite to that of the first ultrasonic pulse is sequentially transmitted to the plurality of foci on the same acoustic line.

Abstract: For the purpose of removing an effect of window processing in window-processing time-domain Doppler signals, translating them to a frequency domain, and then translating them back to the time domain, when cutting signals of a predetermined length from a time-domain Doppler signal; performing window processing on the cut signals; transforming the window-processed signals into frequency-domain signals by Fourier transformation; inversely transforming the frequency-domain signals by inverse Fourier transformation into a time-domain signal after performing predefined processing on the signals; and outputting the time-domain signal as an acoustic signal, the window processing is performed using a window having a profile with a flat top; and the cutting from the Doppler signal is performed such that a former cut signal and a latter cut signal overlap in a portion corresponding to the flat portion of the window.

Abstract: In order to allow operation of key switches without awkwardly bending the elbow or wrist, and arranging key switches aesthetically in the appearance design while preventing confusion in operation and eliminating dead space within the area occupied by the key switches, key switches 1-1-1-6 are arranged horizontally in a row slantingly with respect to the horizontal and vertical directions of an operation panel 101.

Abstract: In order to make both the maintenance of a scan range and a frame rate for ultrasonic imaging and high definition of an image compatible with each other, a sound-ray density for scan is made nonuniform, and a sound-ray density is rendered dense at a required portion and coarse at portions other than the portion.

Abstract: In order to provide an electronic device permitting a reduction in size or an expansion of its internal space while maintaining its mechanical strength, a structure having mechanical strength is integrally formed with hinges for fitting a lid-shaped display unit to a box-shaped body and a carrying handle projecting outward from the box-shaped body.

Abstract: In order to reduce the number of components to achieve size reduction of an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 101 is provided with a power supply section 3 comprised of a bias power supply 4 for generating a bias voltage and a driving power supply 5 for generating a driving voltage using the bias voltage. The bias voltage is higher than the driving voltage. Since the driving power supply 5 merely generates a lower voltage based upon a higher voltage, it is simpler in configuration and smaller in size than the conventional type that independently generates the voltages.

Abstract: In order to arrange continuous wave signal paths using fewer switches, a plurality of amplifying circuits 602 for respectively amplifying a plurality of continuous wave input signals, and outputting each respective pair of amplified signals that have mutually opposite phases for each continuous wave input signal; a plurality of selecting circuits 604, each of which selects one signal of the pair of amplified signals from each of the plurality of amplifying circuits; and a matrix switch 608 employing the output signals from the plurality of selecting circuits as input signals are provided.

Abstract: In order to perform precise time-gain control using a small manual setting device, one of two-dimensional coordinates of a position on a surface of a tablet pointer 215 which an external object touches is defined as a coordinate on a time axis, and the other as a coordinate on a gain axis; and the time gain is controlled based on the two-dimensional coordinates. In order to provide an ultrasonic imaging apparatus that responds to the requirement for both portability and versatility, the ultrasonic imaging apparatus comprises a portable imaging apparatus 100 comprising ultrasonic imaging means, and a support apparatus 500 which comprises supporting means for supporting extension of functions of the imaging apparatus, and which is electrically connected to and mechanically joined to the imaging apparatus so that it can be removably combined with the imaging apparatus.

Abstract: In order to provide an ultrasonic imaging apparatus that responds to the requirement for both portability and versatility, the ultrasonic imaging apparatus includes a portable imaging apparatus 100 comprising ultrasonic imaging means, and a support apparatus 500 which comprises supporting means for supporting extension of functions of the imaging apparatus, and which is electrically connected to and mechanically joined to the imaging apparatus so that it can be removably combined with the imaging apparatus.

Abstract: For the purpose of storing images over a long time period, a cine memory is divided into a consecutive image storage region and a first inconsecutive image storage region. In the consecutive image storage region, the newest images are stored in a chronologically consecutive manner. In the first inconsecutive image storage region, images older than the images stored in the consecutive image storage region are stored in a chronologically inconsecutive manner.

Abstract: It is an object of the invention to display an image during the freeze mode or the cine reproduction mode which has a degree of averaging different from images displayed during the real-time display mode. During the real-time display mode, images are displayed based on the averaged image data F.sub.n. During the freeze mode or the cine reproduction mode, a plurality of sets of averaged image data F are read from a cine memory 3 and a calculation is performed thereon in the calculator 10 to generate averaged image data G having a degree of averaging different from the averaged image data F or unaveraged image data G. Then an image based on the data G is displayed.

Abstract: With the intention of producing a tomographic image having information in depth direction in a short time, image data is produced from multiple tomographic images and a projection process is implemented for extracting a certain value from the image data at a corresponding position of the tomographic images, with the projection process being ended after the value of image data along the direction of projection process has passed a first threshold value and when the value comes to a second threshold value.

Abstract: An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus either for displaying three-dimensional ultrasonic images allowing an operator to become aware of the distance of a target object from an ultrasonic probe, or for displaying practical three-dimensional ultrasonic images while being simply structured and taking a short time to perform necessary operations.

Abstract: In an apparatus for ultrasonic diagnosis, an autocorrelation calculator 11 produces Doppler power data P, a shading portion extractor 21 extracts the left-side section of the profile of the ultrasonic image from the Doppler power data P, and a data value converter 22 converts the data value of the extracted shading portion into the data value for shading and converts the data values of remaining portions into a data value different from the data value for shading. The shaded ultrasonic image is visualized as a three-dimensional image so as to facilitate the diagnosis. Particularly, in ultrasonic images of Doppler power mode, blood vessels are visualized as three-dimensional images, and the viewer can identify even small blood vessels accurately.

Abstract: In a power Doppler ultrasonic blood flow display apparatus, according to a moving signal Z representing moving of a blood flow display region, display changing means comprising changers (77, 78) and a change controller (79) displays a B-mode image also to a blood flow display region (84) while the blood flow display region (84) is moved, and displays a blood flow image when the moving of the blood flow display region (84) is stopped. Consequently the B-mode image of the target can be easily caught even while the blood flow display region is moved.

Abstract: A digital phase shifting apparatus wherein the phase of a train of sampled digital-data is changed by a fine step shorter than a sampling period using a sampling signal with a fixed phase or a clock signal, the apparatus comprising:a memory unit for storing the time-axis train of sampled digital data one after another at addresses corresponding to sampling times;a memory read device for reading out digital data sampled at times ahead of a current sampling time by desired time differences from the memory unit one sampled data after another in synchronization with an operation to sample the time-axis train of sampled of digital data;registers for holding sampled digital data read out from the memory unit, from a most recently read data to a data ahead of the most recently read data sampled data by a predetermined piece count; andan interpolated-data generating device for summing up a plurality of sampled data held in the registers with a weight applied to each of the data to generate interpolated data at a desi

Abstract: A plurality of ultrasonic pulses are transmitted to the inside of a living body by an ultrasonic probe and an ultrasonic echo signal is received from within the living body. An auto-correlating unit effects auto-correlation processing on the ultrasonic echo signal to produce a real-part component and an imaginary-part component. A real-part component corrector adds an offset value to the real-part component so as to generate a new real-part component. A velocity detector detects a moving velocity of a tissue or blood from the new real-part component and the imaginary-part component.